Jadeveon Clowney Not Expected To Attend Minicamp
No surprises here, but Texans edge defender Jadeveon Clowney is not expected to attend the team’s mandatory minicamp, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter). Minicamp opens tomorrow.
Houston has put the franchise tag, valued at $17.1MM, on Clowney, but Clowney has yet to sign the franchise tender as he continues to push for a multiyear pact. The deadline for the two sides to come to terms on such a deal is July 15.
If and when Clowney gets his contract, it will be a doozy. Given the premium that teams are now paying for edge rushing talent, and given that Clowney is also a force to be reckoned with in the run game, he may well end up making over $22MM per season with $50MM or more guaranteed at signing,
It’s unclear whether the Texans are still actively shopping Clowney, but the fact that the team is currently without a GM is doubtlessly delaying a resolution. But it sounds as though former GM Brian Gaine wasn’t exactly making much progress on a new deal for Clowney, which may have been a contributing factor in Gaine’s ouster.
The Texans have targeted Patriots director of player personnel Nick Caserio to replace Caserio, but regardless of whom they hire, the first order of business for the new top exec will be addressing the Clowney situation.
Zane Beadles Retires
Veteran offensive lineman Zane Beadles is retiring, as Beadles himself announced on Twitter. After nine years in the league, the 2012 Pro Bowler has decided to call it a career.
Beadles, 32, entered the NFL as a second-round pick of the Broncos in the 2010 draft. He promptly became a fixture at left guard, and started all 16 games there from 2011-13.
He parlayed his strong tenure with the Broncos into a five-year, $30MM deal with the Jaguars after the 2013 season, and his streak of durability continued in Jacksonville, as he started all 16 games for the Jags from 2014-15. But he wasn’t overly effective, and Pro Football Focus ranked him as one of the worst guards in the league in 2015. Jacksonville released him in March 2016.
He quickly caught on with the 49ers and, once again, started all 16 games in the 2016 season. But in 2017, he lost his starting job, and though he played in all 16 games, he started just five, with four of those coming at right tackle as an injury replacement.
He was released by San Francisco last May and signed with the Falcons a few weeks into the 2018 campaign. He was signed to serve as an experienced backup but ended up starting the final five games for the club at right guard.
The Utah product leaves the game with no Super Bowl ring but with just shy of $24MM in career earnings. He put out the following statement on Twitter:
“I can’t thank the people who helped me get there and stay there enough for their support. I am excited for the next chapter for my family and I. I know the lessons learned living the crazy life this great game requires will propel us forward into more greatness.”
We at PFR wish Beadles the best in retirement.
Latest On Chiefs WR Tyreek Hill
Investigators have determined that the broken arm suffered by the three-year-old son of Chiefs star wideout Tyreek Hill was an accident and was not the result of abuse at the hands of Hill or the child’s mother, Crystal Espinal, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (citing Kevin Kietzman of 810WHB.com) writes. Despite that, and despite the fact that there is no active criminal investigation of the matter, Hill is not out of the woods.
While most assumed the crime that Johnson County DA Steve Howe was referring to when he said he believed a crime had been committed against the child pertained to the broken arm, that was not the case. Instead, as Kietzman reports, the crime pertained to the welts and bruises that Overland Park police found on the child’s body. Investigators determined early on in the process that the broken arm was an accident, but the welts and bruises are evidence of criminal abuse. The problem is that, although both Hill and Espinal have admitted to spanking their son with their hands and a belt, prosecutors cannot determine which parent, or if both, caused the welts and bruises.
This report will not change the NFL’s stance on the situation, as the league was already waiting for the Child Protective Services proceeding that resulted in Hill’s son being removed from Hill’s custody to conclude. But although Florio suggested yesterday that the NFL may be trying to brush this matter under the rug, he is singing a bit of a different tune today. Indeed, the portion of Kietzman’s report revealing that Hill admitted to spanking his son with his hands and a belt could make Hill more susceptible to league discipline, and he can also be disciplined for making threats against Espinal and creating an unsafe environment for his child.
Florio’s earlier opinion notwithstanding, it would be very surprising if the league did not take any disciplinary action against Hill, even if he is not charged with a crime. However, it may be awhile before we know for sure. For the time being, Hill is banned from the Chiefs’ facility.
Texans Request Permission To Interview Nick Caserio
The Texans have requested permission to interview Patriots director of player personnel Nick Caserio for their vacant GM job, as Mark Berman of Fox 26 KRIV tweets. As has been reported previously, Berman confirms that Caserio is Houston’s top choice.
Houston was in the hunt for a new GM in early 2018 as well, but New England denied the Texans’ request to interview Caserio. As Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk observes, in order to hire away an executive under contract with a rival club, the hiring team must offer “the primary authority over all personnel decisions related to the signing of free agents, the selection of players in the College Draft, trades, and related decisions; and . . . the primary responsibility for coordinating other football activities with the head coach.” And, even if the hiring team offers those responsibilities, the incumbent club can still block the interview if its season has not yet ended.
It sounds as though the Texans are prepared to offer Caserio full GM responsibilities rather than make him a “GM Light” who would cede significant power to head coach Bill O’Brien. As Albert Breer of TheMMQB tweets, New England was able to prevent Caserio and director of college scouting Monti Ossenfort from interviewing for the Texans’ GM job last year only because the Pats’ season hadn’t ended yet. This time around, though, the Patriots cannot prevent their executives from hearing Houston’s pitch.
That is, of course, if they are even interested. It would be difficult for an exec to leave the friendly confines of Foxborough for uncharted waters elsewhere, and the quick and unexpected firing of former Houston GM Brian Gaine would certainly be cause for concern. On the other hand, the Texans do have a roster that looks capable of immediate contention, and with a young and promising QB in Deshaun Watson, a first-time GM could certainly do worse than land with Houston.
The Texans have already interviewed Ray Farmer and plan to interview Martin Mayhew. One name that is not on the agenda as of yet is Cowboys VP of player personnel Will McClay, as Calvin Watkins of The Athletic reports (via Twitter). Watkins expects Houston to reach out to McClay, but he does not expect McClay to leave his current position.
Blake Bortles Expects To Become Starting QB Again
After a mostly disappointing tenure with the Jaguars, who made him the No. 3 overall pick of the 2014 draft, Blake Bortles was released by Jacksonville in March and caught on with the Rams a week later. Los Angeles obviously has Jared Goff entrenched as its starting QB, but Bortles expects to become a starting signal-caller in the NFL once again, as Kevin Patra of NFL.com writes.
Of course, one wouldn’t expect Bortles, 27, to say anything different. He understands that he will serve as Goff’s clipboard holder in 2019, but as a five-year starter, a former first-round draft pick, and a collegiate standout, his competitive fire is doubtlessly still burning. But if he does get another opportunity to start in the NFL, he is going to have to fight for it.
In that sense, landing with the Rams was probably the best possible scenario for Bortles. LA head coach Sean McVay has already developed a reputation as a quarterback whisperer, and if Bortles can put together some quality tape this preseason, it’s certainly possible that a club with an uncertain QB situation in 2020 would at least give Bortles a real chance at competing for a starting gig.
Bortles is already impressed with the 33-year-old HC. He said, “[s]eeing how [McVay] coaches, how all the other coaches coach and how the guys are receptive and take it, I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Bortles added, “at the same time, I also expect to be a starter in this league again, and I know it’s not going to be here in L.A. So I’m trying to just better myself. … And if I get an opportunity to play, great. If not, then I spent a year learning from McVay, and being around a really good organization.”
Bortles will make just $1MM with the Rams this year, a far cry from the $5.5MM in base pay he was due to collect from the Jaguars. But he does have over $40MM in career earnings to date, so he won’t be hurting too badly.
Jacob Hollister Primed For Big Role With Seahawks?
Back in April, the Seahawks traded a conditional 2020 seventh-round pick to the Patriots in exchange for tight end Jacob Hollister, and that low-key trade may end up paying major dividends for Seattle.
As Mike Reiss of ESPN.com writes, Seahawks offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer has been very impressed by Hollister thus far. Schottenheimer has lauded Hollister’s speed and even compared his route-running abilities to Seattle wideout Tyler Lockett. New England once thought highly of Hollister and envisioned a significant role for him at one point, but his brief career has been marred by injuries, so the Pats were willing to let him go for minimal compensation.
Reiss also believes that the Patriots thought Hollister, who signed with New England as an undrafted free agent in 2017, had plateaued in their system. But even though New England’s own tight end situation is a little murky after Rob Gronkowski‘s retirement, Seattle’s TE depth chart looks even more thin.
The Seahawks did not select a tight end in April’s draft, and the only tight ends with any meaningful experience on the roster are Ed Dickson and Nick Vannett, neither of whom are exactly world beaters. So if Hollister can remain healthy and can continue to impress Seattle’s coaching staff, he could be primed for a big role in 2019.
The 25-year-old has eight catches for 95 yards in his pro career.
How Will The Eagles Replace Joe Douglas?
Teams obviously hate to lose talented front office executives, and when it happens, the losing club will invariably wish the departing exec all the best and will lament how difficult it will be to replace him.
But for the Eagles, who lost Howie Roseman‘s second-in-command when Joe Douglas agreed to accept the Jets’ GM job several days ago, replacing Douglas really will be a tall order. Douglas was instrumental in some of the major roster decisions that turned Philadelphia into a Super Bowl champion at the end of the 2017 season, and his fingerprints are all over the 2019 club, which is again expected to compete for a title.
Zack Rosenblatt of NJ.com examines three potential candidates to fill the void that Douglas left: vice president of football operations Andrew Berry, assistant director of player personnel Andy Weidl, and recently-deposed Texans GM Brian Gaine.
Berry is perhaps the most logical choice, as he was hired by the Eagles just a few months ago as a potential replacement for Douglas when Douglas ultimately moved on. Philadelphia may not have thought that it would need to fill Douglas’ role so soon, but it seemed the club knew that Douglas would get a GM gig sooner rather than later. Berry spent three years with the Browns as their vice president of player personnel, and while his background isn’t in college scouting, he is still widely respected in league circles and is seen as a future GM himself.
Weidl came to the Eagles along with Douglas in 2016, and he has a scouting background to rival Douglas’. Weidl may join Douglas’ new staff in New York, but that is still a fluid situation.
Gaine, meanwhile, was shockingly fired by the Texans just one year into his tenure as GM, and no one has been able to figure out exactly why. His inclusion on Rosenblatt’s list is perhaps more speculation than anything else, but Gaine has not — on the surface — done anything to damage his reputation as a talented executive, and he will surely get a prominent role somewhere. He may find Philadelphia’s strong front office as an attractive place to land on his feet.
The Curious Case Of Dak Prescott
We learned yesterday that the Cowboys and Dak Prescott are still far apart in their extension talks, and the relationship between player and team could become strained if this situation drags out into the regular season. Prescott’s base pay jumps from $630K in 2018 to just over $2MM in 2019, which is a tidy raise, but still far below market value for a three-year starter, two-time Pro Bowler, and former Rookie of the Year who has quarterbacked his team to two playoff berths.
But while the resume that Prescott has put together during his brief time in the league is quite impressive, there is still plenty of skepticism as to whether he will continue on an upward trajectory or if he will settle in as a decidedly above-average quarterback that needs a strong supporting cast to succeed. It is telling that both of Prescott’s Pro Bowl nods (2016, 2018) came when star running back Ezekiel Elliott led the league in rushing, and even with a productive Zeke, Prescott wasn’t exactly lighting the world on fire in 2018 before the arrival of Amari Cooper helped to spark the offense.
At the same time, it’s unfair to expect any quarterback to thrive without surrounding him with talent at the skill positions and on the offensive line. The adage that suggests a good QB should make his teammates better is often overused and only true to a certain extent. You can’t, after all, get blood out of a stone, and asking your signal-caller to consistently elevate a collection of mediocre players is not a workable strategy.
Prescott is undoubtedly eyeing the massive extension that Carson Wentz just landed from the division rival Eagles and wondering why Dallas can’t offer him that kind of cash. Prescott may never be the type of player to throw for over 30 TDs a season, but he has been nothing but durable during his first three years in the league, which Wentz certainly cannot say. For what it’s worth, Spotrac pegs Prescott’s market value at $29.4MM per year, not too far south of Wentz’ new pact, which carries an AAV of $32MM.
Yesterday’s report indicated that negotiations could last until at least training camp, and obviously both sides are motivated to get something done. Unlike Wentz, Prescott’s earnings potential would likely take a major hit if he were to sustain some sort of significant injury, and the Cowboys have several other contracts to address (including those of Cooper and Elliott).
There is a lot of work to do, especially for a team that knows all too well the constraints of a roster that offers little salary cap flexibility. It would still come as a shock if Prescott plays for anyone other than the Cowboys for the foreseeable future, but until a new deal is signed, there will be room for doubt.
Ravens Offered Gerald McCoy $8MM Guaranteed?
Gerald McCoy agreed to sign with the Panthers today, opting to remain the NFC South rather than venture to the Browns or Ravens in the AFC North. Apparently, though, Baltimore did everything it could to bring McCoy into the fold.
McCoy landed a one-year, $8MM pact from Carolina that could be worth as much as $10.25MM. However, only $4MM of that is guaranteed, and as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports, the Ravens were willing to give McCoy double that amount in fully-guaranteed money (video link). RapSheet adds that the Browns also put together a strong package that may have surpassed the Panthers’ offer.
It’s unclear what incentives Baltimore or Cleveland were offering to enhance the value of their proposals, but many of the incentives in McCoy’s Panthers deal do not seem especially difficult to achieve (provided he remains healthy). McCoy is due $3MM in base pay — and it’s not as though the Panthers are going to cut him to avoid paying that salary — and he can earn $500K in camp roster bonuses, another $500K in 45-man per game bonuses, $500K if he tallies six sacks, and $1.5MM if he posts eight sacks. He also has playoff and Pro Bowl incentives. The eight-sack incentive may be a tall order, but the others are either very likely or at least attainable (and McCoy did tally 8.5 sacks in 2015, with totals of seven, six, and six in each of the past three seasons).
So in reality, McCoy may ultimately earn just as much in Carolina as he would have with the Ravens or Browns (both of whom also boast strong front-sevens). But McCoy was drawn to the camaraderie he saw during his visit with the Panthers, and he preferred to remain in the South. He enjoyed his visits to Cleveland and Baltimore but had reservations about the cities themselves.
Of course, the chance to exact revenge on the Bucs likely had at least some part in McCoy’s decision, especially with Tampa Bay giving McCoy’s No. 93 to new signee Ndamukong Suh.
Dolphins Interested In Laremy Tunsil Extension
The Dolphins exercised left tackle Laremy Tunsil‘s fifth-year option in April, which keeps the 2016 first-rounder under club control through 2020. However, Miami is apparently interested in working out an extension that would run beyond 2020.
Now that Tunsil has three years of service time, he is eligible for an extension, and Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes that the Fins would like to explore negotiations on a new contract. Miami, of course, is in the early stages of a full rebuild, but Tunsil is young enough that he could be a key part of the club when it returns to competitiveness.
Plus, he plays a critical position and appears to be trending upwards. Pro Football Focus viewed 2018 as Tunsil’s best season, one that ended with the site grading the Ole Miss product as the No. 36 overall tackle. He has started 44 regular-season games in his brief career, moving from left guard to left tackle full-time in 2017. After an infamous pre-draft slide, Tunsil’s career is very much on track.
However, he has yet to make a Pro Bowl, and the Dolphins may want to lock him down now before his price tag continues to grow. Titans OT tackle Taylor Lewan is at the top of the market with a $16MM AAV and $50MM in guarantees, while Dallas’ Tyron Smith currently owns the most valuable contract ($97.2MM).
Tunsil is not at that level just yet, so if he prioritizes long-term security over the biggest payday, the Dolphins may be able to extend him for something like a five-year, $65MM pact with $30-35MM in guarantees.